Three men charged in Iran-backed attack plots

Federal prosecutors in New York City unsealed a superseding indictment on Tuesday that charges three men with coordinating nearly 20 attacks against Jewish communities in Europe and the United States. The document also details a planned assault on a British military base that hosts United States Air Force personnel.

The defendants are Mohammad Al-Saadi, a dual Iranian and Iraqi national, Mohsen Mohajeri, an Iranian citizen, and Mohammad Ali Al-Hassani, an Iraqi national. Al-Saadi is the only defendant currently in custody. Prosecutors state he continued to manage the plot from a U.S. jail, using relatives in Iraq to pass coded messages to his co-defendants.

The indictment focuses on a failed attack at RAF Fairford in western England on September 27. British police detained five men after midnight on suspicion of explosives and terrorism offenses. The arrests followed reports of three suspicious vans heading toward the base where American bombers and troops were stationed. The incident had remained unexplained for more than a month before this new evidence emerged.

According to the filing, Al-Hassani paid associates in August to surveil the base. In September, he allegedly funded the purchase of vans, fuel barrels, and metal objects intended to act as shrapnel. The group also bought chemical accelerants, including large quantities of potassium chloride. They created custom decals to make the vehicles look like they belonged to a fuel company and a swimming pool supply business.

Al-Hassani instructed the operatives to deliver the fuel to the base. British law enforcement stopped the men before they could complete the mission. U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald said Al-Saadi remained active in the days before the September attempt. He used phone and video calls with family in Iraq to relay instructions to Al-Hassani and Mohajeri.

Investigators point to a July conversation where Al-Saadi asked his sister about their previous work. Prosecutors interpreted this language as referring to terrorist activity. His sister indicated the plans had not been canceled. The indictment alleges the three men used contacts in the United Kingdom to execute attacks for an Iran-aligned network. This network includes Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Kata’ib Hizballah, both designated as foreign terrorist organizations by the U.S. government.

Al-Saadi pleaded not guilty in June to charges alleging he planned at least 18 attacks in Europe. Prosecutors say those strikes were intended as retaliation for the war between the United States, Israel, and Iran.